OYENTE

Raphael Hythlodae

  • 12
  • opiniones
  • 1
  • voto útil
  • 19
  • calificaciones

Tough slog to get through

Total
3 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
1 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 03-20-25

I like Stephen Sears's books very much, but as an audiobook it is very difficult to listen to hours of combat description, with no map to refer to, and with a constantly changing kaleidoscope of names of combatants and units, and the same hackneyed expressions common to all CW books--"laid down a murderous fire," "sky filled with solid lead," "a deadly volley," etc. The worst feature of this audiobook is the narrator--he is just awful, with his ridiculous use of accents, including trying to sound like women and little girls. I think accents should be banned from audiobooks.

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Fascinating and gripping

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 07-12-24

This is a brilliant work of scholarship, prodigiously researched, and written and narrated with superlative excellence. The author demonstrates a profound understanding of Pacelli's character and of the RC Church, and lets the documented facts speak for themselves. What surprised me was the centrality to any assessment of Pacelli's guilt of his role in negotiating the Vatican concordats with Italy and Germany which did so much to undermine political Catholicism and smooth the way for the fascists. Neither hatchet. job nor hagiography, the book raises deep and disturbing questions. One of the best books of contemporary history I've read in a while.

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Brilliant portrait of the loveable, tragic dandy

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 01-13-23

This is one of those audiobooks I never wanted to end. It is superb in every way. A few highlights: (1) the author unfolds Wilde's aestheticism (and its sources in Keats, Ruskin, Swinburne, etc.), and his creative accomplishments, with patience, care, and deep understanding, I was surprised to learn both of Wilde's brilliant Oxford career, and his deep roots in, and commitment to, Irish culture; (2) the story of Wilde's 1882 American lecture tour is a rollicking and vastly enjoyable romp--the scenes of Wilde, the quintessential stylish dandy, he of the white lily and beribboned slippers, dining with miners deep in a Colorado silver mine, and bringing the gospel of aestheticism to every whistle-stop town in the Midwest--hilarious and unforgettable; (3) the tragic period of Wilde's life--the excesses, self-indulgence, even selfishness, and the increasing recklessness of his sexual behavior--culminating in the tragic downfall of his trial, conviction, and sentence to imprisonment with hard-labor--and the final, lonely, melancholy years in Paris--all this is presented by the author in great detail, very frankly, and based on copious and up-to-date research. Finally, the narration by John Pirkis is wonderful, first-rate--one of those top-tier narrators who do their work so well your attention is never distracted from the content.

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Wonderful, like all Prof Allitt's courses

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 08-16-22

I can hardly express the delight I've had in listening to this and every one of Prof Allitt's courses. He is one of the most engaging and charming of all narrators, and his narrative style is endlessly fascinating, diverting, and interesting. The worst moment of all his courses is when you come to the end!! He is pretty objective here in surveying conservative theory, or at least I thought he was until he got to Thatcher and Reagan. Iran-Contra? S & L scandal? Never heard of them. I suspect that the author came of political age under Thatcher, and never lost his first love. If there is even a hint of criticism of the Iron Lady I missed it. But this doesn't detract from the overall superlative quality of the course. I learned a ton, most pleasurably.

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Outstanding!!

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 08-16-22

Keegan is a brilliant war historian, and his take on the military history of the American CW is filled with fascinating insights. He is especially strong in his emphasis on how landscape profoundly affected the various campaigns. The narrator is excellent too. Somehow the fact that both author and narrator are Brits gives a freshness to the account --looking at the American conflict from a POV across the pond, as it were.

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Mostly good

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 08-16-22

I listened to this after Gallagher's general CW history, which I prefer. Too much emphasis here on which generals Lee "liked" better (who cares?) The worst feature is his treatment of Longstreet. After heaping praise on Lee's old warhorse he joins the critics in damning him for his delays at Gettysburg 2nd day, without acknowledging the unexpected reconnaissance delays Longstreet faced, and without the slightest discussion of what might have motivated the otherwise wonderful general's culpable failures at Gettysburg. The format, going through the Reb high command general by general, makes for a lot of repetition (reviewing battles again and again to show what so-and-so, and then such-and-such, was doing).

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Just awful

Total
1 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
1 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 08-16-22

What did I expect from a crank and autodidact like Buchanan? I guess it is useful if you want a primer on the foreign policy "ideas" of President 45 and his ilk. The narrator is fine, though.

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Disappointingly dull

Total
2 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
2 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 08-16-22

I usually love CW lit and was looking forward to Grant's memoirs, but he lost me at the Mexican war. Grant's text is as dull, tedious, and impersonal as an official dispatch. A great read if you want painstakingly detailed descriptions of the landscape between Vera Cruz and Mexico City, but little or no sense at all of the character of Grant the man. The narrator does an excellent job, though.

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Professor Allitt is the best!!

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 06-13-22

I've listened to 4 of Prof Allitt's courses, and they are all first-rate, some of my very favorite Audible listens. Not only is he a great historian and writer but he is also a gifted narrator. His lectures are endlessly fascinating and entertaining. I'm always sorry when they're done!

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Delightful!

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 02-09-22

Dr. Allitt is one of my favorite historians, and he also does a wonderful job in reading his own book. I only wish the book were five times as long! Despite its brevity it's packed with fascinating information on Albert, Victoria, and Victorian Britain in general. I especially liked the account of Albert's work on the Great Exhibition and the Crystal Palace, and the royal family's attachment to Balmoral and to Scotland. A true gem of a book and a delightful listen. More Patrick Allitt, Audible, please!!!

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